Olivier Giroud urged to consider Arsenal future to avoid missing out on World Cup place

Olivier Giroud has been urged by France assistant coach Guy Stephan to consider his Arsenal future in order to play more regularly.

The Le Blues coach has warned the Gunners striker that he could miss out on a place in Didier Deschamps' final 23-man squad for the World Cup if he does not play regularly in the coming months.

Giroud has played just 234 minutes of Premier League football this season with all his 12 appearances coming off the bench. Alexandre Lacazette has been Arsene Wenger's preferred striker in the league and it is unlikely to change in the coming weeks owing to the Frenchman's form — he has scored eight goals in 15 appearances since signing from Lyon in the summer.

The 31-year-old, who has made 247 appearances for the Gunners thus far, has been mainly used in the cup competitions. He has started all of Arsenal's games in the Europa League and the Carabao Cup. Giroud has five goals in 20 appearances across all competitions.

The France international had the chance to leave the north London club during the summer transfer window following the arrival of Lacazette, but chose to remain and fight for his place. He believes his story with Arsenal is not yet over.

Moreover, Wenger is a big admirer of the Frenchman and is unlikely to allow him to leave the club midway through the campaign, especially since Giroud provides the manager with a different option in attack owing to his physical presence and aerial ability.

However, lack of regular game time could seriously jeopardise his place in the France squad for the World Cup. There are a number of players namely Lacazette, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Andre-Pierre Gignac and Anthony Martial vying for a place in the forward line.

Stephan has implored the striker to consider his options when the transfer window opens in January. Everton were interested in signing this summer and could again be open to a move if Giroud does become available in the New Year.

"It's clear that playing time is not enough and Didier has had the opportunity to talk to him about it and now Olivier has to find a solution in the weeks to come," Stephan told French TV channel TF1.

"A loan deal in January? That's up to him.

"Olivier has been very good for us in the last few months and he has a very high ratio in terms of the amount of games played to goals but now he must play more," the France national team's assistant coach added.